Ava couldn’t help but laugh.“I’ll have my usual, please, Linda,” she said.
“Make that the same for me.”
Linda wrote down their order, and Ava loved the hug she got.Knox got his hair ruffled, and they were alone.
“You know, no one ever messes with my hair and gets away with it,” Knox said, running his fingers through it.
“Linda is not just anyone, and I have a feeling if you did anything to that woman, the whole state would turn against you, including me.”She reached over the table, because he kept running his fingers through his hair.“Stop.”She ran her fingers through it, getting it just the way he liked it.“See, you don’t need to keep messing it up.”
She offered him a smile, and she became aware of the fact she’d touched his hair.Not that there was anything sexual by it, absolutely not, but it was intimate, at least to her.
Get a grip, Ava.You’re just doing your job, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with just doing your job.
Knox was unreadable, as always.
She took a deep breath and reached for the menu, even though she knew it by heart.The burgers were the stars of the show, but their sides were just as delicious.Fully loaded potato skins, fries with chili and cheese, mac and cheese.There were just so many delicious meals.
“Are you just going to stare at the menu all night?”Knox asked.
Ava put the menu down and looked across the table.“What would you like to talk about?”
“Anything.”
She looked at him and promised herself she would never say anything, but now seemed a really good time to ask.“Do you want to tell me why you killed Pete Carmichael?”
Knox sat back in his chair.Her question didn’t have any impact.He didn’t care what he had done.
“You want to know why?”
She nodded.
“He hurt you.”
“Is that all?”Ava asked.
Knox put his hands on the table and leaned in close.“I told you when I found you, that I was going to do everything in my power to protect you.Anyone who has ever hurt you is on my shit list, and that means they are all going to die, Ava.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“The people on that list are not good people.You’ve been fucking unlucky, but I’m going to make it right.Do you understand me?”
She nodded.No one had ever cared to make her feel safe, not the way Knox had.
“The doctor Pete used has been taken care of as well,” Knox said.“Trust me, he deserved to go.”
Ava felt her stomach flip-flop, but not out of nerves.She couldn’t believe Knox would do that for her.No one had ever cared that much about her, yet he was doing so, and she adored him for it.
Linda didn’t make them wait long for their food, and she looked toward her with a smile and thank you.
Right now, words failed her, because what did she say to a man who was making her safe?Who did everything he could to protect her?
There were no words.
There was nothing she could say.
He was everything.
